Professor Shruti Kapila

My principal fields of scholarship and publications are Modern and Contemporary India (1770 to the present) and Global Political Thought.  I also research and write on the History of Modern Science and Race, Gender and Political Violence. Predating recent calls to ‘decolonise’ the curriculum by more than a decade, my academic life has been defined by centring the importance of India for the remaking of global political languages. My recent work focuses on twentieth century political thought and theory and the Indian rewriting of modern political languages, notably sovereignty, democracy, violence and republicanism.

I also have a long standing interest in the history of the modern subject (or 'self') as understood through disciplines of the psyche and mind, notably psychoanalysis and psychiatry and public debates on ethics and politics in colonial India.

Beyond scholarship and research, I have worked on international strategy for the Office of the Vice-Chancellor focussing on India and the Humanities. I engage in political commentary and opinion on India and global politics for the international media and across Indian newspapers, magazines and television.

Beyond the university, I co-convene (since 2013) a closed-door seminar at the House of Lords that puts Indian leaders and key voices in dialogue with their British counterparts on pressing issues of the day. I also occasionally advise and consult with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Indian institutions, including most recently the National Commission for Women, the highest policy body for women in India.